Disclaimer:See first story.

Author's Note:This one is less light hearted then the last two stories. Mostly since it deals with a harsher topic then the ones before. Because the painful strands in DG and Cain's lives are just as important as the happy ones.I hope you all enjoy this anyway.

The Connecting Strands:Comforter

In...out...In...out...In...

Cain stared up at his bedroom ceiling,concentrating on his own even breaths.Trying in vain to calm down,to let himself sleep away the last few hours before daylight.To rid his mind of the voilent memories that plauged him.

Sighing,Cain finally gave in and sat up,pinching the bridge of his nose.He sat there for some time, the clock on the nearby desk ticking away and only helping to make him more anxious.

The calender on Cain's wall wasn't lying, though he wished to hell that is was.Wondering how one date out of the whole year was going to bring the small haven he'd slowly created at the palace come crashing down around his ears.And with his duties towards DG he couldn't just call in sick and sleep the day away.Crawling into a hole with a bottle of booze was the last route he wanted to take.

Cain stood, moving quickly to his desk,pulling on his duster and hat.Strapping his gun holster on as he thought about waking DG up to tell her where he was going.But knowing the princess she'd be right on his heels, and he couldn't do this where she could see.Cain's internal wounds were still too fresh for that.

After checking that he was all together on last time,Cain made his way to the King's study and wondered how harsh Ahamo was going to be at four in the morning.

------
DG knew something was wrong,but in her sleep addled brain it was coming much too slowly for her usual grumpy morning mood.She chased the worry with the same frustrated determination one chases a half remembered dream only to give up in the end.

As her body woke up, DG was close to giving up and letting it come to her in the shower like most half remembered things did.But when she had to wince against the sunlight streaming in her bedroom window,it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Sunlight?That wasn't right.Cain had an annoying habit which involved taking on a sleep drugged DG at six a.m. every morning, waking her up before the sun was about to rise so he wouldn't have to wait outside her door with nothing to do for hours.So when did the sun start rising earlier then Wyatt Cain?

A quick glance at her clock said that it hadn't.It was 9 a.m. with no Cain in sight.

DG went through her morning rituals a little quicker then usual and only thought fleetingly that she'd missed breakfast as she made her way down the hall.

It was a short trip to Cain's room, since he was situated only four rooms away from hers.The closest he was going to get without making the arrangement look indecent,Cain had told her blandly.

She knocked on the door and was met with nothing, not a bark from inside or a stony face at the door.And DG was so jumpy with such a drastic change in her normal schedule that she barged into the room herself in case Cain might of hit his head when getting up that morning.

The room was empty, Cain's hat, duster and gun gone.And his cleaner set of clothes that he wore in the palace were thrown over the chair back at his desk.
-------

"Ahamo!"

Ahamo looked up as his yougest daughter came storming into his study."What happened to 'Dad'?"He asked with a frown.

DG placed her palms on Ahamo's desk, looking more petulant then intimidating.But he let her ill behavior go when he saw the concern jumping frantically under the annoyance on her face.

"I can't find Cain."

It was said simply, to the point and explained his daughters behavior perfectly.But now Ahamo had to be careful, it was obvious that Cain hadn't said anything to DG before he left.Now her father was gonna have to calm her down before she sent out search partys after the poor man.

"Cain requested to have a day to himself,DG.I think you should respect that.He promised to be back tomorrow afternoon at the latest."Ahamo said as he carefully skimmed over some paperwork on an O.Z. rebuild plan in Central City.He could easily hear the thoughts running through DG's mind as she mulled about this news without even looking at her.

"Did he say why?"

DG's tone was careful, a little searching.Fishing like a child did to see if their sibling had ratted them out to mother and father.

Ahamo smiled at her."It's nothing to do with you,DG. So don't worry.He said it was a personal matter that he needed to take care of.He'll be back before you know it."Ahamo said gently,but despite his attempt to help,it hadn't settled his daughters nerves.

"All right,thanks dad."DG said as if that made it all better.But her simple answer made Ahamo raise an eyebrow as she walked out of the room wihtout another word.The old slider just sighed.Poor Cain was probably not getting his day off after all.

-----

Jeb Cain answered the door by the third knock and was a little shocked to see DG standing on his doorstep.Last time he'd seen her was on some official business about the Longcoat renegades they'd been closing in on a few weeks back after the the ball incident.

What suprised him more was that she was alone.Dressed in the same outfitt she'd been wearing the first time Jeb had met her in the woods.

"Hey,Jeb.Your father isn't here, is he?"She said in greeting, rocking back and forth on the heels of her sneakers in what his father had called DG's anxious tick.

"Uh,afraid not,princess.I thought he'd be with you."Jeb replied lamely,knowing he was incredibly out of the loop here.

DG bit her lip and looked around the street Jeb's house was situated on in case she'd beaten Cain here by chance.

"No, he kind of dissapeared this morning without a word.And I thought he might be with you, or you might know where he is."

Jeb's nose wrinkled a little bit as he thought on that, and DG smiled.Cain made that face, usually when DG started qouting movies from the Other Side. Then Jeb's face fell a bit.

"You may want to come inside,DG.I think I know where my dad went."

------

The double suns would usually have DG out in the gardens right now,Cain thought as he put another armful of decaying wood on the pile.At least if she wasn't tearing apart the castle to find him.But he shouldn't be worrying about the princess right now.That wasn't what he was here for.

Looking at what still remained of the broken down building that was once his home,Cain took off his hat to wipe away the sweat that had collected on his forehead.

If he squinted hard enough, the house wasn't so delapitated,it was thriving with life.He could even smell Adora's cooking and hear Jeb's bare feet running over the wooden porch.It made him smile.

But the treacherous suns chose that moment to reflect off the tin suit standing solidly in the lawn,like a dark thorn that had posioned the plot of land and the illusion was shattered. Cain had to swallow down the acid pain in his throat.But it was easier to be here then at Adora's grave.

He'd rather pay tribute to the home that once was instead of the grave his family had to remember for the rest of their lives.

First order of business was to take down the house best he could,if not livable then he could at least clear it of debri and salvage what trinkets he could from inside.Then...his hard eyes traveled to the tin suit.He'd take care of the 'thing' marring his home.

For now he wouldn't go near it,or the image looper that still lay near the porch.Those would wait till last.

Hoofbeats caught Cain's attention and on instinct he put his hat back on and pulled his gun.Whirling around to aim at the rider,who stared at him as her horse reared up in suprise.

DG only got her horse under control just in time to be yanked off the saddle and tossed over Cain's shoulder.He'd done it so quickly that DG was too shocked to react.Her backside made a hollow thunk as he deposited her on the porch with little thought to how much the landing would hurt.

"What in the O.Z. are you doing here,DG?"Cain demanded,staring down at her with the sun beating down on his back.DG noticed how dirty his clothes were,his duster gone and shirt sleeves rolled up to acoomodate better to the work he'd been doing.She decided not to comment on the treatment to her rear end.

"I came looking for you,I was getting worried."She said truthfully.

Cain's eyes darted around the clearing and DG winced at the look on his face."Alone?"

"Yes,alone.I wasn't exactly going to bring the whole gang when Jeb told me why you came out here."DG said quickly in her own defense,but realized too late that was the last thing she should of said.

Cain's face became impossible to read and DG bit her lip.

He turned to the broken railing and retrieved his duster,then grabbed his satchel before heading for DG's horse.

"What are you doing?"DG asked wearily as Cain led the animal over to where she was standing.

"I'm taking you back to the palace,princess.Then I'm going to come back to finish this,alone."The last time she'd heard such steel in his voice was here,standing newly revived in front of his home bent on revenge.He'd been willing to get rid of her then if it hadn't been for her persistance,and it hurt to repeat that today.

So DG stood and planted her feet squarely,knowing Cain could easily pull her off her feet again but she planned on making it a bit harder for him this time."I'm staying.It's your day off,you're not in charge of me and I can do whatever I please.I want to help,Cain."

There was her olive branch and Cain's hand spasmed around the horses reigns.

"What if it's none of your business for once,DG?What if I don't want you here?"He asked,his voice sounding very much like the acid he'd swallowed earlier.

And he watched with an aching heart as DG took a step back from him,her bright eyes sparkling with hurt.He had to turn his head away so he wouldn't reach out for her.

"DG..."

"I don't think she would of wanted this,Cain."

Cain found her face more determined now, backing up her brave words.But his own face was a bit crumbled because he'd hurt her.

DG risked moving towards him,reaching out to put a hand softly on his shoulder then more firmly when he didn't have the heart to shrug her away."You should be celebrating the life you had with her,not raising up more hatred."

Cain shook his head."Harder then it looks."

"She wouldn't want you to do this to yourself,Cain."

Cain's face softened, placing his hand over DG's on his shoulder and studying it in the sunlight.His thumb ran over the fingers clutching at his shirt that looked as soft and pale like the rest of her skin.Not the bruised fist that had knocked a social climber down to defend his honor.He snorted,turning to hold her gaze, in search of answers he didn't have and neither did she.

"How can you know that?"He asked softly."You're just a kid,DG.You haven't even had time to fall in love, let alone lose it."Cain swallowed,trying to find his control."But Adora's gone now and I have to do what I can to make it.If that means taking down this old shack piece by piece then I will."

DG pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and Cain swore she was going to knaw it off at the rate she was going.She nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Maybe you're right.MaybeI don't know what it's like.But if I was your wife,if I was the woman who watched you being forced into that suit eight years ago fighting every second before you were locked in..."DG smiled, something worn around the edges and sad."I'd want you to keep good memories with you,so you would survive.The first time we kissed,the little personal jokes we had,the first time you held your son.She'd want you to live on with those memories,not die with them."

Cain felt his breathe catch in his throat.Did she even know how that sounded?How she sounded?He could of sworn he saw Adora blazing behind DG's eyes for a moment,telling him to listen.And he did.

Cain closed the gap between them,letting his hand slide into black curls to coax her forward.DG didn't resist,both hands on his shoulders as Cain leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.Using his other hand to hold her close as his kiss lingered on her brow.It was soft,sweet and somehow they both took strength from it.And Cain found it took a lot more in him to pull away then it had to intiate it.

DG tilted her head up to look at Cain.And they understood that,without picking the timing or place,something had changed between them.They'd taken a turn down this road and there was no way back,but they weren't going to take this journey at a sprint.

"Now,are you going do what you came here for?"DG asked.

Cain nodded, letting his hand slip from her hair and down her cheek fleetingly before he pulled away.Bending over to go through his satchel,Cain pulled out a small wrapped bundle and peeled away the cotton layers to expose the flowers safely nestled inside. Adora's favorite. Native to the part of the O.Z. where she'd been raised as a young girl.Cain had always gone out of his way to get them for her every year on her birthday.

Cain brought the purple flower buds to his lips before laying them on the porch."Happy Birthday,Adora.I'll see you down the road,sweetheart."

Author's Note: sniff Please don't kill me.

Next Story:Title to be announced.